


home ain’t on the map

by beanpod



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Gen, Jason Todd Returns, Jason Todd Returns Home, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23074414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanpod/pseuds/beanpod
Summary: Jason returns because Dick doesn’t ask him to.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 127





	home ain’t on the map

**Author's Note:**

> #jason todd deserves a hug

Jason returns because Dick doesn’t ask him to. Not once. He texts and doesn’t mention it but he leaves it in hanging in the air. So Jason returns, months down the line, when things feel less like shit, when _he_ feels less like a shitty person and he can look himself in the mirror most mornings.

So Jason returns—he stands in the street and stares up at the tower and only thinks about going back to where he came from twice.

He pushes on the fancy doorbell and counts sixteen seconds in his head: that’s how long it takes for whoever’s upstairs to decide he’s worth the time.

When he comes out of the elevator, Conner’s right outside waiting for him. His dog’s sitting right by him, tongue lolling out. Jason regards them both carefully and says, “Is Dick here?”

Conner shakes his head, opens his mouth and what comes out is, “Groceries.”

It reminds Jason that he hasn’t eaten a damn thing since last night. He shifts uncomfortably—what’s there to be uncomfortable about when he owes this guy his life and has seen him butt naked, though. Whatever.

“There’s coffee, though.” Conner sounds hopeful. He sounds friendly. He nods towards the kitchen and smiles a little and Jason’s gut flutters weirdly.

It’s hunger. That’s all it is.

His lips thin, he follows Conner into the kitchen and takes a seat on the counter, lets his bag drop by his feet. The dog comes sniffing and Jason lets him, for once thinking of letting his guard down. Besides, if the dog smells something weird that’s on him.

Conner sets about taking mugs out of cabinets, spoons and creamer and sugar from above the sink. Everything’s right where Jason left it. Conner’s quiet as he pours coffee in a mug, hesitates only a little bit to look up at Jason and, at whatever he finds on Jason’s face, gives the jug and mug over.

“Thanks,” Jason says after he pours himself half a cup.

“How’ve you been?” Conner asks as he puts both coffee and creamer away when none of them touch it. The sugar stays, though Jason doesn’t even glance at it.

He shrugs. “Does it matter?” _Does it matter no anyone_ , is what he means.

Conner flinches a little and Jason feels like shit about it—the guy’s only trying to make small talk, has been nice enough to let him in, was nice enough to save his fucking life months ago. But this is Jason, this is how things are, and that’s all there is to it.

Still, the shitty feeling doesn’t go away as quickly as it should, and Jason finds himself saying, “I’m sorry.”

Conner looks up from his mug and shrugs, “You don’t owe me anything,” and fuck him, seriously, because Jason basically owes him _everything_ , nearly cost the guy his own life.

 _Fuck_.

“Let’s start over,” Jason says, and takes a gulp of not-hot-enough coffee. “I’ve been… fine, mostly. Making do.”

Conner nods, a little stunned, eyes slightly more open than usual. Jason nods back and returns to his coffee and wonders if this guy knows everything that went down, because he was there at the end, yeah, but he can’t remember where the guy’d been when Jason’d said a shitload of things and stormed off.

He wonders if Conner—however alien he might be, however a stranger—knows all of it and is just indulging Jason before throwing him out.

“It’s good to have you back,” Conner says at last, his fingers still curled around his mug. Jason realizes now, that the thing’s never stopped steaming. What a sneaky fucker, Jason thinks distantly.

“Yeah,” Jason says, not sounding very sure because there’s still Dick to deal with, “yeah, it’s good to be back, man.”

+

Dick walks in with an armful of grocery bags and only blinks twice at Jason before saying, “Sorry, Conner, couldn’t get you Pop-tarts.” Conner makes a pitiful noise from where he’s rinsing both their used mugs and Dick adds, “They’re vile and not good for you. Right, Jason?”

Jason rolls his eyes and takes Dick’s smile for what it is. “You say that ‘cause you’re old, Grayson.”

“Yeah, kid, shut up,” Dick answers with an eyeroll of his own. Feels like a _Welcome back_.

+

Jason learns, in between reacquainting himself with his old room and waiting for his laundry to be done, that Rose is visiting her mother for the week and that Gar tagged along with her. Raven’s still gone and Hank and Dawn drop by every once in a while. Conner tells him this while throwing a ball down the hall for Krypto to catch and bring back.

“Bet Rose wants to kick my ass,” Jason mutters, pulling at the cuffs of his hoodie.

Conner shrugs, “She does. Constantly. It’s a whole feat, trying to get her to shut up about it.”

Jason huffs half a laugh. “That’s not reassuring.”

“It’s not supposed to be,” Conner grins. “Training will be fun, though. Can’t wait.”

Jason rolls his eyes so hard he gives himself a headache.

+

Gar and Rose come back and Rose takes one look at Jason and suddenly there’s a butterfly knife on its way to Jason’s fucking head. It gets pinged off track by Conner’s eye-lasers. They leave a nasty burn mark on the floor that Dick will notice later and ask questions about.

Rose sends a nasty glare in Conner’s direction and says, “Stay out of it, Superkid.”

“Ooh, that hurts,” Conner deadpans, and unsticks the knife from where it’s landed on part of the kitchen island.

“Are you back for real?” Gar asks. He’s got his arms crossed over his chest. He doesn’t look angry but Jason wouldn’t put it past him to turn right then and there and shred him.

He swallows, looks at the closed elevator doors, looks at the hall leading to the rooms, itches to look out the window. All scape routs. Oh, Jason’s way past freaking out at dropping off windows. He’d be cool with it right the hell now.

“He is,” Conner says, and hands Rose her knife back. “Anyone up for burgers and TV?”

Rose stomps off to her room, but Gar stays where he is, regarding Jason carefully.

To Conner, he says, “We’re not watching _Reals Housewives of Orange County_ again.”

“Oh, come on, you guys like it, too!” Conner looks at Jason for help.

Jason raises both hands. “Sorry, buddy, I’m pretty sure I’ve lost all TV privileges as it stands.”

Conner purses his lips and sulks but they end up watching _Housewives_ anyway, even Rose comes out of her room having shower and changed. Her hair’s up in a bun and she looks better now, more at ease. She sits left of Conner and mutters, “God, I hate Tamra,” and it sets Conner off into the longest Jason’s ever heard him speak.

This is how Dick finds them, bickering over take-out burgers and reality TV. He takes one look at the TV and sighs, grabs a carton of fries and says, through a mouthful of greasy food, “If you start another fight over this, so help me god,” while leaving for his room.

“It’s a recurrent thing,” Gar explains, stealing more of Rose’s onion rings.

“We mostly do it to rile Conner up,” Rose adds.

“You guys just like it when I break stuff,” Conner retorts.

“We do,” Rose and Gar say at the same time.

“You’re weird,” Jason states.

The three synced snorts he gets in return are uncalled for.

(Still, he grins and settles for the afternoon and doesn’t complain at all when Rose queues up another episode and Conner steals half his burger.)


End file.
